Wednesday, December 16, 2009

Resolutions, Part 1

I have decided, in my finite wisdom, to do my New Year's resolutions in two parts. This first part is about books and my top-priority resolution:

1. I will reduce stress.

Is reading stressful, you ask? Yes, if I do more than read for pleasure and get involved in book Challenges and setting goals.

For the last two years, I have participated in the 50 Book Challenge on LibraryThing. It’s no big thing to read 50 in a year when I have little else to do, but I still ask myself the nagging question, “Will I make it to 50 by December 31? Will I, huh, will I?” Stupid, I know, but I cause me stress. So, for 2010, I am not going to participate in any annual-number-of-books-read Challenges.

It’s amazing how many different Challenges there are in book-blogging land, and I’m going to do three easy ones—two of which I committed to in 2009.

This Challenge is sponsored by Jennie at Biblio File, and I have to read ONE book about China by September 1, 2010. Very doable since I have the ONE book waiting to be read.

This is a great Challenge from my friend Diane at Bibliophile By the Sea. This isn't a reading Challenge, but rather a give-away Challenge. That is, I've committed to passing on twenty books that I'll read in 2010 to other people—family, friends, library sales, women's shelters, nursing homes—even previously-owned bookstores.

This Challenge is fairly self-explanatory [cough, cough]. I'm signing up for the "Inquisitive" level, which means I commit to reading THREE books during 2010 over a wide range of genres. Too bad I just finished Cormac McCarthy's The Road, but I have more in my reading pile.

If you're interested in any of these Challenges, click on the picture for more information and sign-up. The links will then be moved to the sidebar.

So, for 2010, I'll reduce some stress by reading the l-o-n-g books I'm anxious to dig into. The Sound and the Fury is my next Faulkner, and I have several Library of America books to read—the latter of which are 800 to 1,100 pages each. I'll pepper them, of course, with mysteries and anything I find interesting in the book blogs (which is usually quite a few).

I'll tackle the rest of my resolutions in a couple days, so feel free to amuse yourselves until then.

Charlie, I think that's a good approach to the challenge aspect of reading. However, I hope you continue to poke your nose into what lw3, moi and others you have befriended at LT are reading.

I used to average about 200 a year but it has dropped a lot as I've got older...I will make 75 by the end of the year but next year I'm just going to read what I darn well feel like, numbers be hanged.Tui

Hi Charlie,I LOVE Faulkner. I think it's good your deluving into deeper books. I like books that make us think. Great New Year's resolution to reduce stress. I would go nuts trying to read fifty books in a year. I wouldn't enjoy them at all. I would just be thinking about the next one. Well, you have a Merry Christmas,Amanda

I just finished The Road too! Last weekend B woke up at 3 AM to find me standing in the corner of the bedroom (sound asleep) insisting that there were people in the house. Night terrors. Incredible book but I must admit, I'm glad that journey has ended.